Carlisle’s Lauren Smith credited her and mixed doubles partner Marcus Ellis’ sticking power as they advanced at the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships. 

The pair advanced in a tense all-English battle with Gregory and Jenny Mairs, triumphing 19-21 21-16 22-20. 

Smith and Ellis outlasted their opponents in a war of attrition, taking the match at the second time of asking in the decider. 

“I would say it wasn't the best game any of us on the court have ever played,” she said. 

“I think it's also so nervy and quite a difficult atmosphere playing your countrymen.  

“We know each other so well, there's a different kind of pressure in there and the game really could have gone either way.  

“Obviously, we are absolutely elated to have taken it, it feels great to be on the winning side of it.  

“And I think credit to us for sticking in when it wasn't the nicest game, it would have been quite easy to get frustrated and be like, 'Oh, it's not going how we want it to go’. 

“But actually, we we're like, 'No, we're just going to dig our heels and it's going to be what it's going to be' and we got there in the end.” 

The Mairs took the first set having opened up an early advantage but were soon pegged back in the second. 

The match moved to a deciding game with the largely English crowd picking a side and cheering on their favourites, which took Smith time to get used to. 

The Utilita Arena were rewarded with a close final set which Smith and Ellis took to advance to the second round to face seed-topplers Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Emmanuelle Widjaja. 

She added: “We played them in January, and we lost 19 in the third, so it was tiny, tiny margins that made the difference.  

“It's a pair that we like to play, it's a pair that we know we've got the right style for if we play a consistent match. 

“We'll look at it tomorrow, start preparing, have a little bit of a mental reset, have a good rest and go again and just give it our best as always.” 

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